


Was I You? Were You Me?

by phantomphan28



Category: Annihilation (2018 Garland), Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Body Horror, Crowley Was Not Raphael Before Falling (Good Omens), Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Memory Loss, Mindfuck, Rescue Missions, Temporary Character Death, Weird Biology
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-19
Updated: 2019-09-26
Packaged: 2020-10-24 08:34:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20703026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phantomphan28/pseuds/phantomphan28
Summary: "Our bodies and our minds will be fragmented into their smallest parts until not one part remains... Annihilation."





	1. I

_The air rang with the soft chimes of wind through the leaves of the glade. Animals grazed and hunted without a single care. The sun floated down to warm the grass and myriad flowers. There were no humans to disturb the tranquility of the lazy afternoon._

_It was Paradise._

* * *

"We've had strange reports coming in from America."

Aziraphale squirmed slightly in his seat in Gabriel's office. He was uncomfortable there in the best of times, but this unexpected call back to headquarters was unnerving, especially given the company. Gabriel was there, of course, and Sandalphon, and Michael. That wasn't the surprise; that dubious honor went to the small cluster of demons in the room.

Dagon, the Lord of the Files, was there with a dictaphone (which appeared to have been chewed on; no wonder, considering those teeth). So too were Hastur and Ligur, two of the many dukes of Hell. Leaning against a pillar was a demon whose name escaped Aziraphale, a man-shaped creature with hair styled into horns.

"Well, Gabriel," Aziraphale began, "America is a _touch_ outside my purview..."

"We're aware that your usual assignments--"

"Such as they are..." Sandalphon groused.

"--your usual assignments," Gabriel pressed on with a small glare, "are centered in England, thwarting the demon Crowley."

"That's why _we're_ here." Dagon piped up. "We're reading you in."

"Reading me in?" Aziraphale asked, looking around.

Gabriel sighed, and handed Aziraphale a file full of reports and pictures. "There's been a situation brewing for some time now. Basically, there was a minor asteroid collision on the eastern coast. It should have ended there, but something strange happened."

There was some kind of soap bubble-looking thing in a picture, but on a massive scale. Judging by the ensuing pictures, it was growing.

"The humans have been calling it a 'Shimmer'. No one Upstairs or Down has been able to get a read on it. All communication attempts from inside have been useless. There have been angelic and demonic teams sent in to investigate. No one has ever come back."

"So, why do you need me?" Aziraphale asked, closing the file. "Sciences aren't exactly my forte."

"But you _are_ good at tracking demons. You've been able to keep tabs on Crowley for six thousand years."

"But what does that have to do with--"

"Because we sent Crowley into the Shimmer a year ago," Ligur cut in. "And we haven't heard from him since."


	2. II

_The soft murmur of the lake soothed the creature drowsing on the bank. Fingertips gently brushed the water's surface, reveling in the silky texture and idly trying to catch the rainbows glittering on it in vain. Flowers blossomed deeper down, under the water, but the creature was too comfy to bother diving for them. They were growing so nicely, weren't they, so perfect? And why not, when it was expected of them? _

_There was a vague memory of leaf spots and yelling, but it was so far away..._

* * *

Aziraphale tightened the straps on the pack he was wearing in an attempt to curb his nervousness, without success. They'd bluffed past the humans guarding the anomaly, the "Shimmer", and were standing at its edge. There were eight of them, an equal split of angels and demons (ostensibly so that no side would outnumber the other in any possible skirmish).

Aziraphale was there, of course. After he'd been filled in on the mission, all the creatures of Heaven and Hell combined couldn't have kept him away. Uriel had also signed on; ever the tactician, she would be helpful inside. To the angels' great shock, Gabriel had also volunteered for the mission.

"I can't send you somewhere I wouldn't be willing to go myself." He'd said.

Sandalphon had immediately volunteered as well, refusing to let the other archangel go unescorted. Michael had agreed to stay behind and manage the Head Office, as she'd be the only archangel with management experience left.

Hastur and Ligur made up part of the demon group, to no one's surprise. The remaining demon (Legion, as it turned out he was named), split himself in two and filled out the rest. That got him a side-eye from the angels, and a warning not to try anything underhanded. As he could multiply when needed, he would be helpful if a larger search area was required, but Sandalphon didn't appear to trust him anyway. Uriel trusted none of them (and Aziraphale, for good measure), and Gabriel made a lackluster attempt to keep peace.

A hard slap on the shoulder brought Aziraphale back to the present. Gabriel was standing next to him, sporting some kind of hiking outfit (in white, of course) and a baseball cap. If Aziraphale had read the minds of the rest of his traveling companions in that moment, he would have seen that they'd all found something to agree on: Gabriel looked like an idiot.

"You ready?" He asked, smiling as always.

Aziraphale nodded, then took a closer look at the archangel. There was something in his eyes, a flicker that he tried to keep buried. The look of bravado could only go so deep; in truth, Gabriel was probably as apprehensive as he was. He gave Gabriel's wrist a little squeeze, and some of the tension seemed to drain out.

"Come on, then." Hastur groused, elbowing past the pair. "Izznot like it's gettin' any less weird by starin' at it."

He stomped over a fallen tree limb and walked through the iridescent mist. Ligur followed close behind, with the Legion twins calling after them to wait up. With a sharp glance at each other, the angels followed, with Aziraphale bringing up the rear. With a deep breath to steady his nerves, he walked into the Shimmer.

* * *

_Ears perked up as the creature sat up ramrod straight. Something had changed. He sensed a presence. _

_It was familiar, but he couldn't place where he knew it from. Memories were so fragile here, one moment bleeding into the next like an unending dream. He'd had other dreams, of strange places and faces that blurred together, so different from the perpetual spring he lived in now. _

_Or was it then? What was "then"? What was "now"?_

* * *

Aziraphale's eyes fluttered open and he moved a wing out of his face, yawning gently. He didn't remember falling asleep, not that he slept frequently enough to make a habit of it anyways. He got to his feet and made his way over to the rest of the group, who were talking amongst themselves.

"Good morning, sunshine!" Gabriel teased.

"Aziraphale." Uriel greeted him. "I don't suppose you recall setting up camp."

Camp? Aziraphale looked around in alarm. There were tents and lean-tos that he hadn't seen before, and even now he noticed he'd been sleeping under an improvised shelter. Hastur and one of the Legions was poking through his rucksack and mumbling, and Ligur was jotting something in a dog-eared notebook.

"No, I'm afraid not." he replied, worry coloring his voice.

"Neither does anyone else." Uriel stood and walked over to him. "We're doing inventory before we head out. Do you sense him yet?"

Aziraphale focused for a moment, then shook his head. "Nothing."

"Well, I've done a check!" Hastur closed his rucksack and tossed it over his shoulder. "Goin' by the missing supplies, we've been 'ere a week."

"Give or take a day." Legion supplied helpfully.

"A week?!" Sandalphon and Gabriel chorused, alarmed as the rest of them.

"How could we lose a week?" Aziraphale flexed his hands into and out of fists at his sides. He'd never lost memories like this before! How could this be happening?

"No tellin'." Ligur shoved his notebook into his jacket. "And communicatin' with Downstairs is spotty. Dunno if your lot will do any better."

"Probably." Sandalphon quipped.

"Fair bet." The other Legion agreed.

"Button it!" Hastur snarled at him from his tent.

"We should get moving." Gabriel packed his things together with a snap of his fingers, and the rest followed suit. "Aziraphale, any ideas?"

"Erm..." Aziraphale thought it over. "North is as good a choice as any. We have a lot of ground to cover, after all."

"North it is!" With a quick glance and a nod in the right direction, Gabriel led them through the swamp (Swamp? When had _that_ gotten there?!) and into whatever awaited them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I went with "Legion" for the Disposable demon. Seemed to fit.


End file.
